Margie, the seeds from my lotus seed pods were always hard and brown, but I did wait until the pods turned brown on the plant to cut them. If you let the pods stay on the plant long enough they nod downwards and the seeds fall out into the water, or the stems fall sideways, again tipping the seeds out.

If your seeds are soft, it means either they were picked a little too early, or they were kept too moist. They might be ok, just preparing to germinate (which they do under water in nature).

Still, there's no harm in trying to germinate them, what have you got to lose?

Elaine

"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." –Winston Churchill

Like Elaine said, Lotus seeds should be hard. Very hard. I had to use a dremel tool to make a cut through the seed coat so they would germinate - the coats were about 2mm's thick! The seed coats on these guys are so hard and thick that 1000+ year old Lotus seeds have been successfully germinated.

That said, just stick them in a small jar with some water and change it daily. If your tap water is heavily chlorinated get some bottled water. Here is a picture of mine I germinated.

"Don't judge your day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."